Rahul Gandhi calls Anil Ambani PM's 'BFF' in new dig over Rafale deal

New Delhi, Oct 6: In a fresh attack on industrialist Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said one can land Rafale deal contracts worth "Rs. 1.3 lakh crore" if he is the prime minister's "BFF" (best friend forever).

Gandhi's comments referred to the offset deal between French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation and Ambani's Reliance Defence after the BJP-led NDA government entered into an agreement with France to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets.

"When your BFF is the PM, you can get the 1,30,000 Cr. Rafale deal, even without relevant experience. But wait. There's more! Apparently, 400,000 JK Govt staff will also be arm twisted into buying health insurance ONLY from your company!" he said in a tweet, citing a media report.

The report claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir government has chosen Reliance General Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambani's Reliance Capital, to provide health insurance for its employees, pensioners and accredited journalists.

Ambani has earlier rejected Congress allegations on the Rafale offset contract and said the government had no role in Dassault choosing his company as a partner.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has also denied any irregularity in the deal with France.

PTI